Only One Thing Is Necessary

This post is written by contributing writer, Kimberly from The Corner of Birch and Divine.

The first thing I heard this morning was the plaintive howling of the cat, awake before my alarm and the sun, demanding his breakfast. I scowled and pushed him away, hiding from my busy day under the sheets.

When the alarm joined the cat in a cacophonous racket that couldn’t be ignored, I crawled out of bed and shuffled to the kitchen. The dirty dishes from last night’s dinner party leered at me from the counter, and I went through the motions of preparing for a full day at work while attempting to mentally muddle through my evening.

Let’s see… I’ll be home from work at 6:00… I’ll do ten minutes of Pilates… I need to make dinner and deal with all those dishes, discuss budget and pay bills with my husband, write a number of thank you cards, and prepare for my in-laws to come into town tomorrow… I can do that all in four hours, right?

Being a woman is hard. It’s a sweet, beautiful gift from God, but it can be so difficult to find our place sometimes. We struggle to keep some sort of balance while being pulled in a million different directions. Our families, significant others, and friends all want (and deserve) a chunk of our time. We have floors that need to be vacuumed, and laundry that needs to be washed. We have full-time jobs at the office, as homemakers, or as students. In the midst of the whirlwind, how are we supposed to prioritize it all?

Women have been struggling with trying to do everything and be everyone for thousands of years. But Jesus provides the answer to us, just as He provided the answer to Martha years ago:

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village.  And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.  But Martha was distracted with much serving.  And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?  Tell her then to help me.”  But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” -Luke 10:38-42

Many of us are familiar with this passage, but we get caught up in all the responsibilities and obligations we invite into our lives and we do not see that we have become modern day Marthas. Day in and day out, we try to accomplish the work of five women, becoming frustrated when we don’t meet our goals. We seek a solution in books, blogs, and within ourselves. But the answer is so clear. One thing is necessary. Will we choose our laundry, or will we be like Mary?

I pray that women everywhere would take this to heart. Mary chose to make the Lord her priority, above everything else around her. She chose to seek first that which could not be taken from her, and which would give her the contentment that no amount of tasks crossed off a to-do list can provide. Mary chose God.

Summer is here, and our lives are filled with everything that the hot season brings – vacations to plan, children to entertain, families to visit, and parties to host. As women, we’ll be overwhelmed and flustered. But tomorrow can be different. Tomorrow, we can wake up, shuffle into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, and open our Bibles. We can choose to be like Mary, and make the Lord our first priority. When we make this choice, we will be filled with the comfort, joy, and satisfaction that only He can provide. And then, having already chosen the good portion, we can tackle our day with fresh eyes and a full heart.

This post was shared with Works for Me Wednesday

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